American K–12 schooling is awash in a sea of good intentions and ambitious reforms. But will these reforms deliver on their promise and endure for generations to come, or will they become short-lived fads that at best underdeliver and at worst perpetuate the very problems they intended to solve? Louisiana’s education chief John White argues that today's reformers must be cautious not to create a status quo of their own and offers some thoughts from the field about instituting lasting change.

Welcome to AEI's event with Louisiana Superintendent John White. We should be getting started momentarily. We want to welcome viewers from Choice Media and The Times-Picayune for joining us. Anyone watching online is welcome to log in from the page here to comment or discuss or use the hashtag #fixingk12 on Twitter.

Hess: John has helped see changes in Louisiana, including the percent of students learning at or above their grade level doubling from 28 percent in 2008 to 57 percent in 2013. The number of failing schools has dropped from 27 to nine in 2013. College-going ACT scores have increased for more than 4,000 students.

The politics of our country and of our issue -- education reform -- have become so polarized. The man set to become mayor in New York has no education experience. My hometown, where performance ranks near the bottom, has education leaders saying that comparing outcomes to other states is like having a federal takeover.

White: We resent monopoly operators. We have created independent charter schools. We have isolated success stories in places like Houston and Harlem, where poor families were seeing better opportunities for their children. Our ideas have begun to work in greater scale, like improving literacy rates in Florida.

White: Now, we reformers, are overseeing entire education systems in states. How we use this authority is a critical and tenuous challenge. Now, it's not just about clamoring for change, but sustaining the positive efforts. The validity of our ideas are not at risk, but the pitfalls of authorities are. It's a risk when policy gains are paid more attention than implementation. It is a risk when reform leaders and their rhetoric is more about easy sympathy for the poor than success across the nation.

White: If we are attuned to the risk, we can sustain the positive direction of our country today. This is a reframing of our challenges. If we do that, we can carry on our success into the next generation, not be swept away in the next election.

White: The establishment bureaucracy sits behind the walls of the fortress. It's every Title 1 office in every school district in America. It's the opaqueness of the multimillion dollar Head Start industry that has befuddled every administration.

White: We are training our kids for call center and retail jobs at the mall. Just 29 percent of students with disabilities graduated on time, but the establishment bureaucracy just wants more forms filled out. Without reform leaders standing up to fight, what we have now is an old story. We tell them we've got nothing in it when it comes to education reform.

White: We can advocate for every child to advocate for the middle class. I please need you to listen to this. We need you to help break out of the populist box, show some courage, and tell the stories that matter to American families.

White: The "plumbing" of the USA and the deep deficit to change in our 13,500 school districts leaves them hobbled and hemmed in. They do not have a unified strategy, and even if they did, they wouldn't have a system to support this. It is an existential threat. It may not matter in NYC or DC, but if you're in Louisiana's 70 school systems, it has a tremendous impact.

A problem with charter schools in New Orleans is that they do not value their teachers and do not allow them to get involved in running their schools. Teachers are treated like fungible goods. Charter schools will do better once they include teachers in the decision-making process. John White needs to spend more time talking to his critics in Louisiana. He needs to recognize that they want to help improve public education. So much of White does appear to be designed to have public schools fail.

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